The last scene in the first half of the movie called for
a sleeping Gunnery SergeantHartman to be awakened by Private
Pyle and Private Joker who were in the head. When they filmed
that last scene, Lee was to report to wardrobe and get dressed
in boxer shorts, flip flops, and a sweatshirt without sleeves.
When he got to the scene, he had taken it upon himself to wear
his DI cover, the famed smoky bear. Kubrick looked at him and
asked why the hell he was wearing a hat if the scene asked for
him to come out of his duty hut, presumably right out of bed.
Lee explained to him that the cover was his symbol of
authority and that any drill instructor would put it on when
he came out of his hut, regardless of his attire or time of
night. I found this funny because he brought this up himself
and until he mentioned it, it had not even occurred to me
that this was strange. Of course the DI would have his cover
on. Wasn't it a part of his head?
Lee also pointed out that the only time you see
him without his cover is when he is laying dead at the end
of the last scene when Pyle had shot him in the chest. Again,
this had never occurred to me and I guess you can make some
symbolic statement about it if you are into the analytical
aspects of a movie. I just thought it was an intense end to
an intense movie, or at least half of it.
